Iranian commander meets Hezbollah leader

TEHRAN (AA) – The commander of Iran's elite military force met with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, amid an escalation of tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The commander of the elite Quds force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Qassem Suleimani, met with Nasrallah and attended the funeral ceremony of Jihad Mughniyeh, a Hezbollah fighter who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Syria last week.

Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported the meeting, citing Lebanese TV channel Al Mayadeen, but did not provide any details about their discussions.

On Tuesday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warned Israel by sending a diplomatic message through the United States, saying "they crossed our red lines", in reference to a Jan. 18 Israeli air strike on the Syrian-controlled area of the disputed Golan Heights.

The airstrike killed a senior Revolutionary Guard commander Mohammad Ali Allahdadi and six Hezbollah fighters including Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Imad Mughniyah, a Hezbollah leader killed by a car bomb in Syria in 2008.

"We told the Americans that the leaders of the Zionist regime should await the consequences of their act," said Amirabdollahian, according to Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency.

Two Israeli troops were killed and seven others wounded on Wednesday when Lebanon's Hezbollah movement attacked two Israeli military vehicles in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms region, which is claimed by Lebanon.